Guns
A gun (also known by island pigs as a "boom-boom stick") is a deadly weapon designed to shoot projectiles, such as bullets and artillery shells. In Muppet productions, guns have been used by pirates, cowboys, gangsters, hunters, and even Scandinavian cooks. In addition to small firearms, the Muppets occasionally have used larger artillery (such as cannons), although this is mostly for stage stunts, musical percussion or historical reinactments. Additionally, Crazy Harry is also known for his frequent explosions and pyrotechnics. Gun use and references *In a Wilkins Coffee commercial, Wilkins asks Wontkins if he drinks Wilkkins coffee. When Wontkins says he does not, a hand enters from off screen with a gun and shoots Wontkins. Wilkins says this was "Public Service Announcement." *In an ad for McGarry's Sausage, Mack fires a gun into the air, proclaiming that Kermit should eat McGarry's Sausages for breakfast because "they start your day off with a BANG!" Kermit leaps out of bed, shaking and fearing for his life. *Jim Henson's Time Piece shows the man as a gunslinger in the west and he shoots the Mona Lisa and he is sentenced to jail for the crime. *Guns were occasionally featured on The Muppet Show, oftentime as a culinary tool used by The Swedish Chef while preparing food. **In The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence, the Swedish Chef's sandwich sprouts wings and flies away, but the chef shoots it down with a gun. **In the "Cowboy Time" sketch in episode 101, Kid Fozzie attempts to hold up a bar, first telling everyone to "reach for the floor" and then telling them that "this is a stickdown." He realises he is packing two pickles instead of pistols, and is derided as the "fastest gherkin in the West" by the bartender. After he is mocked by the saloon's patrons and staff, Fozzie fires off the loaded pickles, shoots down the chandelier, and traps the bartender, who then concedes a large bag of cash to the villain. Just then, Rowlf turns his own gun on Fozzie, who trades his pickles for a carrot. **In episode 105, the Swedish Chef prepares pancakes, which wind up stuck on the ceiling; he uses a blunderbuss and shoots them down. **In episode 114, the Swedish Chef uses a "boomashootn" to shoot a shoot a hole through an English muffin to make a doughnut. **In the opening of episode 119 and 124, Gonzo shoots the "o" in the show's logo with a blunderbuss. **In episode 205, the Swedish Chef shoots lettuce with a gun, first creating a salad and then Brussels sprouts. Later, he tries to shoot a coconut, but instead shoots a rubber chicken and gets hit by a coconut. **Episode 209 features a group of pistol-wielding Lobster Banditos who rescue heir compatriots from the Swedish Chef's kitchen. **The performance of "For What It's Worth" in episode 221 features tree inept Whatnot hunters terrifying the woodland animals as they carelessly shoot their guns on their way through the woods. In the end, the hunters only manage to shoot a motorcycle, a tractor, and a cement truck. **In episode 314, Dr. Julius Strangepork invents the dissolvatron, a ray gun that can move things from one place to another. **In episode 216, the Swedish Chef's uncle shoots a turkey with a blunderbuss. **Episode 319 features a look at the "All-Nation Goldfish-Shooting Contest" in a "Muppet Sports" segment. Louis Kazagger wishes a contender luck on shooting a goldfish. The contender denys that he needs luck, aims his shotgun directly into the fishbowl but misses the goldfish entirely, showing that shooting fish in a barrel isn't quite as easy as the adage suggests. **A group of Whatnot soldiers sing "Why Can't We Be Friends?" in episode 401 while on the battlefield with their guns. **In episode 405, the Swedish Chef threatens an uncooperative turtle with a blunderbuss, only to be met with a double-barreled miniature canon from within the turtle's shell. **In the murder mystery of episode 414, the lights go out and the audience hears screaming and gun shots; when the lights come back up, the Muppets find that Liza Minnelli has been stabbed. **In episode 414, a gun-toting lion comes to rescue his friend from the circus during the "Hold That Tiger" musical number. **In episode 417, Luke Skywalker brandishes his blaster pistol, even pointing it at Fozzie Bear backstage. While sometimes described as being "clumsy or random" he does try to fire the blaster at Dearth Nadir, but it's no use. **In episode 421, Fozzie Bear sings "Run Rabbit Run" as he tries to protect a group of rabbits in the theater from a farmer with a gun. **In episode 507, the Swedish Chef tries to ready Eric the Parrot for the kitchen. Eric has the last word when he shoots him in the face with a blunderbuss pistol. **In episode 523, Dr. Strangepork fights off a robot in a Pigs in Space sketch with a ray gun. * Guns are featured several times in ''The Muppet Movie. A patron of the El Sleezo Cafe shoots at Fozzie on stage (Fozzie luckily dodges the shot). While driving his own car, Doc Hopper attempts to shoot Kermit in another vehicle; he slips, accidently shoots the balloons that are carrying Gonzo and crashes into a billboard . Later in the film, Hopper's hechmen are seen practicing shooting at a cut-out replica of Kermit before Hopper brings in a professional to do the job and kill Kermit. *Kermit warns the group in The Great Muppet Caper that "there could be physical violence, there could be gunplay, and there's a slightest chance that somebody might even get killed." His assesment is partial true when Nicky Holiday grabs Kermit and pulls a gun on the Muppets. When asked why he was doing that, Holiday replied "I'm a villain. It's pure and simple." *In The Muppets Take Manhattan Kermit describes "Manhattan Melodies" as a show about life in the big city. Martin Price comments on the idea saying "Big city, huh? Cops? Shootings? Car chases? That kind of thing?" Kermit rebuffs saying "No shooting stuff. It's more like songs and dances." Prince replies "Songs and dances? That might be interesting. Nobody cares about shootings anyway." *In a postcard segement from the French co-production of Fraggle Rock. Traveling Matt visits a boardwalk shooting gallery. Matt sees a youth firing a gun at the target, a small ball floating on a crest of water (which he assumes this is a doozer moon). *Jim Henson's film noir spoof "Dog City" is full of doggy gags and guns. Laughing Boy fires a handgun and Bugsy Them fires his tommy gun wildly at Ace Yu and Quackers. *In Muppet*Vision 3D the Swedish Chef fight back against the cannon fire of the orchestra. The chef takes out a large blunderbuss and shoots at Waldo several times, hitting the screen instead. Waldo teases the Chef, and turns into a target. Waldo then realizes his mistake, as the angry Chef puts the gun away and instead takes out a huge cannon. *''Muppet Treasure Island'' features a lot of gunplay and references to shooting. The opening musical number concludes with Captain Flint pointing his pistols directly into camera while shooting his crew. Mr. Arrow warns the crew that "Any man caught dawdling will be shot on sight." Aftering being attacked by the pirates Dr. Livesey comments: "How infortuitous our firearms weren't loaded." Squire Trelawney replies: "I'll say. We might have shot somebody." Spa'am and the island pigs retreat when they find out the pirates have guns (or as they call them "boom-boom sticks"). Long John Silver shoots Dead Tom (who, fortunetly, is already dead) and pulls a gun on Captain Smollett and Benjamina. *In Muppets From Space K. Edgar Singer uses a subatomic neutro-destabiliser (also known as "the really big gun") to hold up Gonzo and his family. His plan is thwarted when in his atempt to silence the laughing aliens it is revealed the weapon is unloaded (thanks to Rentro removing the clip). *Ivan the Guard shoots at Kermit when he tries to escape the gulag in Muppets Most Wanted (although he claims it was "nothing personal"). Notes and commentary *Jim Henson stated that as a youth "I had a BB gun, and I'd shoot at the water moccasins in the swamp just to wake them up."Jones, Brian Jay. Jim Henson: The Biography, page 33 (2013) According to one biography, while other children in the area were learning how to use real guns for hunting, Jim had "absolutely no interest in it"Parish, James Robert. Jim Henson: Puppeteer and Filmmaker, page 14 (2006) Another biography stated: "Jimmy was never interested in fighting and he never learned how to use a real gun to go hunting with some of the other boys in the crowd."Gourse, Leslie. Jim Henson: Young Puppeteer, page 58 (2000) *An early draft for a Kern's Bakery commercial featured Tommy mowing down Fred with a machine gun in responce to Fred's disapproval of violence in advertising. The concept and script was revised to Fred being eaten by an aggressive monster instead.Jim Henson's Red Book: Filmed 8 commercials for Kern’s Bread’ *In an interview with MuppetZine, Jerry Juhl commented on the gunplay in Muppet Treasure Island stating: "Brian Henson wanted as little serious violence as possible, and those responsible for it had to be humans, not Muppets, thus proclaiming the moral superiority of felt over flesh. Muppets almost never handle guns in the film, and never shoot them. Well, okay, Bunsen fires a cannon and kills a palm tree. But that's it!"Horn, Danny. MuppetZine: An Interview with Jerry Juhl (1996) Sources See also *Muppet battles *Muppet explosions *Adult themes